We all know him as the towering Jogi Thakur from Uttaran and now Ayub Khan is back as the aam-aadmi in Zee TV's family saga Dil Se Diya …Vachchan. Amrah Ashraf speaks to the actor.

We all know him as the towering Jogi Thakur from Uttaran and now Ayub Khan is back as the aam-aadmi in Zee TV's family saga Dil Se Diya …Vachchan. Khan, who shifted gears from Bollywood to television almost ten years back, feels that finally television has given him his due credit.

Dil Se Diya …Vachchan, a show about class conflicts with saas-bahu saga as its backbone, is trying to break the convention by highlighting the positive relation between saas-bahu.

So, after a successful stint with Uttaran, what drew him to Dil Se Diya... Vachchan? He is quick to say, "It's always the character. This character is strong in his own humble way. He stands by his principles. His day to day issues are very real and identifiable. The dilemmas of the character drew me to it."

Khan, who is undoubtedly gaining on popularity post Uttaran, does not mince words while highlighting his success. "I have reached a comfortable position in life and now I have to find new ways of maintaining the top position I have achieved."

Sensing a tinge of monotony in his voice, we ask him if he thinks he's been typecast and Khan says, "I would love to break away from the usual roles I do and do an action based show. Something on the lines of Khatron Ke Khiladi would be very exciting."

From Dil Chahta Hai to Dil Se DiyaWho can forget the alpha-male egotistical Rohit from Dil Chahta Hai! Ayub Khan portrayed that role with much panache but soon after that he took a long sabbatical from Bollywood. Quiz him and he says, "I have achieved so much in television that I am fairly comfortable where I am. Television is getting bigger by the day and of course the reach is more immediate in TV. I made the shift almost ten years back and I try and juggle as much between the two as possible."

Asserting the ultimate purpose of acting, Khan says, "The two mediums might be different but the intent is the same- to reach out to audiences and be identified."

So does he plan to move back to Bollywood and he says, "I hope to be working with Prakash Jha soon. Keeping my fingers crossed. We have had a meeting so I am very excited." He refused to divulge further details.

With an uncle for an acting prodigy, actor Ayub Khan is no stranger to Bollywood but many feel that was the main cause of his downfall. Who are we talking about here? None other than veteran actor Dilip Kumar. Khan concludes, "When I started off I wasn't aware of the pressure but later I realized the pressure mounting on me. People did expect a lot but I didn't focus on their expectations. I let my career run its course and told myself that I will achieve whatever was written in my destiny."